CM Punk recalled a heated incident in Brazil that saw him surrounded by a militant group in the ring.
During a recent appearance on The Late Run, CM Punk was asked to describe a scary in-ring incident during his WWE career. Punk recalled a 2012 match against Chris Jericho in Brazil, which is best remembered for Jericho getting in serious trouble over desecrating the Brazilian flag.
“I had machine guns pointed at me,” CM Punk shared. “Oh yeah. You mentioned Brazil. [WWE] went and did a show in Brazil one time; we haven’t been back. Brazil, I love you, I would like to come back. We should try to work on that.
“My opponent that night rolled out of the ring and snatched a Brazilian flag from somebody. You know where this is going,” Punk continued. “Brazil don’t play.”
Punk pointed out that in the United States, people get bent out of shape. However, Brazil gets a bit more upset when you do something like burn or desecrate a flag.
Punk thought that Jericho should maybe not do anything with the flag. He couldn’t recall if Jericho just threw it down or wiped his butt with it. However, he pointed out that Shawn Michaels did something similar with the Canadian flag a few years prior, without as much animosity.
CM Punk says things went sideways very quickly
“The instant this happened, all the sudden, there’s a second referee in the ring. I’m going, ‘Uh, what’s going on?’ The one referee’s talking to [Jericho], the other referee’s talking to me, trying to relay the information. Then our Head of Talent Relations is in the ring, this all happens lickety-split. I’m looking around [wondering what happened],” Punk explained. “Then I turn around and the ring is surrounded by men in fatigues, and one has his gun pointed directly at me.”
Late Run host Chad Johnson questioned the move, noting how Punk wasn’t a threat. Punk said that the Brazilians were so offended by the gesture that they had to end the match and wrap things up. Punk said that Jericho, whom he didn’t mention by name (calling him ‘homeboy’ here), refused to end the match. As a result, Punk legitimately rolled him up for a pin and kissed the flag before rushing out of the ring.
“They tried to snatch [Jericho] up, take his passport. We knew if he handed it over, he wasn’t coming home,” Punk said. “No. So, by the cover of night, we got him out of there and we continued on the tour and he went home.”
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